Rotary drilling apparatus.



L. J. BLACK.

ROTARY DRILLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 30. 1914.

Patented June 22, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI L. 1. BLACK.

ROTARY DRILLING APPARATUS.

' APPUCATION FILED ]ULY30,1914- 1,144,098. Patented June 22, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7% J7 Z2 Z1 25 f 1 H/ W N 1| 1 as Apparatus,

' a Wt LEE J. ACE, OF'BEAUEIQNT, TS.

3:1 1 DRILLING Llldhd.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 22, 119315.

- Application flied. July 80, 1914. serial No. 854,059.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, LEE J. BLACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaumont, in'the county of Jefferson and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Drilling of which the following is a specification. p I

This invention relates tothat class of well drilling apparatus commonly known as rotaries, ,thejame being characterizedby a turntable carrying means for gripping the a further Yowsr' the turntable 10 is drilling pipe or tube.

The invention has reference more particularly to the gripping device, andits object is to provide a simple andefiicient device of this End in which all screws and nuts of the-ordinary gripping devicesare eliminated and the number-of parts is reduced :to a minimum, and also to rov'ide a gri ping device which can be easi y and quic 'yoperated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in the detailed description appearing hereinafter, reference being bad to .the accompanying drawings in come against the cover plate.

are sections on the lines 2--2 and 33,- re- I spectively, of Fig. 1, the turntable not being shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is an elevation of a locking device, and Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 10 denotes the turntable which carries the pipegri ping device.

e turntable is mounted on sills 11 and it is driven in the ordinary manner. As nothing is claimedfor the turntable per se description thereof isdeemed unhii d hh h epi -gr1 pi evicewic'is te subjectm t ter o iq' tlib preseht application for patent'is constructed and arranged as fol In an annular r 12 in the top of mounted a circular housing comprising a bottom 13, a side wall 14 an a cover or top' 15, the latter being removable to emit assemblage of the parts wgiich the ousing is to inclose. In the h us' are mounted radially slidablejaws' 16, egg of which carries a roller 17 to engage the surface of the pipe or tube to be the opposite side wal rotated. The jaws are located diameterically opposite each other, and they are mounted to advance toward or to recede from a common center, the rollers being carriedby the inner ends of the jaws. As shown 1n Fig. 1, four jaws are provided. The periphery of the rollers is milled or otherwise shaped to obtain a firm hold on the pipe, or tube to be rotated. The inner ends of the jaws are recessed, as indicated at 18 to accommodate the rollers, and in ls of these recesses vare vertlcal grooves 19in which seatthe j0urnals 20 of the rollers The grooves open through the top of the jaws and the journals are slidable therein to permit the rollers-to rise and fall, which eliminates the j ws. This is an important feature as there is a constant vibration up and down when drllhngin rough or bouldered strata. The cover plate 15 has a central opening 21 to accommodate the pipe orfitube to be ro-v tated, and in the; edge of this opening are slots 22 to accommodate the rollers, the latter being free to rise until their journals 24 into which the outer ends of the jaws ex- I tend, there being a separate recess for each jaw- As shown in Fig. 1, the inner end wall of the recesses is spirally or eccentrically arranged and the outer ends of the jaws are correspondingly curved to fit snugly thereagainst in the bottom of the scroll plate are groovw 25 which run parallel to the spiral'walL: The outer ends of the jaws have upstanding ribs 26 which are curved to conform to the curvature of the grooves 25 and seat therein. The jaws slide on the bottom- 13- of-the housing and the scrgll plate is spacedtherefrom a suficient dlstanoe to allow the outer ends of the jaws to come'beneath the scroll plate and the ribs 26 to seat in the grooves 25.- The bottom of the housing also has a central opening 27 to accommodate the pipe or tube to be rochatter or upward thrust awaiy from the the jaws from rising. The cover plate 15 fits on top of the scroll plate and prevents the latter from rising to take the ribs26 out of the grooves 25.

In the housing are raised portions 28 between which the jaws 16 are mounted, the sides being machined to form ides for the jaws. The outer surface of ese raised portions is curved to conform to the curvature of the inner peri hery of the scroll plate, said late fitting etween said curved surface an the side wall 14 of the hous ing. These raised portions also carry the bolts 29 whereby the cover plate 15 is held in place on the housing.

The scroll plate 23 is rotated by means of radial stems 30 secured tothe outside thereof and passing through slots 30 in the side wall 14- ofthe housing. When the scroll plate'is rotated in one direction the jaws 16 are advanced to engage the gripping .rollers 17 with the pi e or tube to be rotated, and upon turning t e scroll plate in the opposite direction the jaws are retracted to release the gripping rollers' from the pipe or tube.

The thrust on the jaws to advance the same is squarely against the outer ends thereof. The grooves 25 and the ribs 26 serve merely to retract the jaws and there is" no strain on these parts when the jaws are advanced.

A meansis also provided for locking the jaws 16 in advanced position, the same comprising eccentric levers 31 fulcrumed between bearings 32 mounted on the outside of the wall 14 of the housing. Theeccentric ends of the levers work in openings 33 in the wall 14 so that they maybe jammed against the outer periphery of the scroll plate 23, whereupon said plate is locked,- and prevented from turning in a direction to retract'the jaws.

On the sills 11 is mounted a device for automatically operating the scroll plate 23. This device comprises a trip lever 34 having two arms or ranches 35 and 36, respectively, and pivoted at 37 to a bracket 38 rising from the sills. An operating rod 39 is connected to the lever. To turn the scroll plate in a direction to retract the jaws, the turntable 10 is driven in the reverse or lefthanded direction, and the lever 34 is swung so that the arm 36 interce ts or comes in the ,pathof the stems 30. of the stems reaches the arm 36, the latter being stationary, the scroll plate is rotated in a direction to retract the jaws and the operator may now pull out the pipe or tube one of the latter strikes the branch 85, the

scroll plate is turned in a direction to ad- Vance the aws, and to en age the rollers 17 with the pipe or tube. e dotted lines in ow, when one I Fig. 5 show the lever 34. in the two positions to operate the scroll plate. When in normal position, as shown in full lines, the two branches of the lever are out of the path of the stems 30. Y

From the bottom 13 of the housing depend stems 40 which seat in recesses in the turntable 10, whereby the housing and the parts carried thereby are connected to the turntable to rotate therewith. Any other means may be provided for connecting the housing to the turntable, and it may also be formed integral therewith. Various other changes in the structural details hereinbefore described may also be resorted to.

By the structure hereinbefore described a simple and highly efficient clamping device is had, and one which can be easily and quickly operated. All nuts and screws are eliminated and the structure is strong, durable and simple, the number of parts being reduced to a minimum. The grip ing rollers tightly grip the pipe or tube wit out danger ofcrushing the same. By recessing the top of the turntable and mounting the device in the. recess, the height of the appa-' ratus' is reduced which makes it more convenient for the operator in pulling out and putting in the pipe'or tube.

I claim:

1. The combination of a rotary member, an annular scroll plate carried by the rotary member and rotatable therewith and relative to said member, said scroll plate having recesses, the inner ends of which are spiral, radially movable jaws carried by the rotatable member and having their outer ends engaging the spiral inner ends of the scroll plate recesses, guides for the jaws, and means for-rotating'the scroll plate relative to the rotary member for operating the jaws.

2. The combination of a rotary member, an annular scroll plate carried by the rotary member and rotatable therewith and relative to said member, said scroll plate having recesses, the inner ends of which are spiral,

- the aforesaid grooves, guides for the jaws,

and means for rotating the scroll plate relative to jaws.

3. The combination of a rotary member, a circular housing carried by and rotatable with said member, said housing comprising .a bottom, a side wall and a cover plate, the

bottom and-the cover plate having central opemngs, an annular scroll plate rotatably mounted 1n the housing radially movable aws operatively connected to the scroll the rotarymember for operating the' maaoae plate, guides in the housing for the jaws, and means'for rotating the scroll plate relative to the rotary member for operating the aws.

4. The combination of a rotary member, a circular housing carried by and rotatable with said member, said housing comprising a bottom, a side wall and a coverplate, the bottom and the cover plate having central openings, an annular scroll plate rotatably mounted in the housing, radially movable jaws operatively connected to the scroll plate, guides in the housing for the jaws, the scroll plate being mounted between the guides and the sidewall of the housing, and means for rotating the scroll plate relative to the rotary member for operating the jaws.

5. The combination of a rotary member, a circular housing carried by and rotatable with said member, said housing comprising a bottom, a side wall and a cover plate, the bottom and the cover plate having central openings, an annular scroll plate rotatably mounted in the housing, radially movable jaws operatively connected to the scroll plate, guides in the housing for the jaws, thescroll plate being mounted between the guides and the side wall of the housing, and said scroll plate having parts which overban the jaws, and means for rotating the scrol plate relative to the rotary member for operating the jaws.

6. he combination of a rotary member, a scroll plate carried by the rotary member and rotatable therewith and relative to said member, radially movable jaws operatively connected to the scroll plate, said jaws having recesses at their inner ends, the opposite side walls of the recesses having grooves opening through the top of the jaws, gripping rollers seating in t e recesses and having journals which seat loosely in the grooves, guides for the jaws, and means for rotating the scroll plate relative to the retary member for operating the jaws.

The combination of a rotary member, a housing carried byand rotatable with said member, a scroll plate rotatably mounted in the housing, radially movable jaws in the housing operatively connected to the scroll plate, said jaws having recesses at their inner ends, the opposite side walls of the recesses having grooves opening through the top of the jaws, gripping rollers seating in the recesses and having ournals which seat loosely in the grooves, the top of the lionsing having slots which are in line with the grippin rollers, guides for the jaws, and means or rotating the scroll plate relative to the rotary member for operating the jaws.

8. The combination of a rotary member, a housing carried by and rotatable with said member, a scroll plate rotatably mounted in the housing, radially movable jaws in the housing operatively connected to the scroll plate, and means carried by the housing and engageable with the scroll plate for locking the same against rotation in the housing, and guides for the jaws.

9. The combination of a rotary member, a scroll plate carried by the rotary member and rotatable therewith and relative to said member, radially movable jaws operatively connected to the scroll plate, guides for the jaws, actuating stems connected to the scroll plate for rotating the same relative to the rotary member to ofierate the jaws, anda trip device adjusta is to intercept said stems.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEE J. BLACK. 

